Windows 11 on ARM: A Developer's Year-Long Virtualization Journey

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In the world of modern computing, survivability often hinges on adaptability, and nothing highlights that better than the evolving tale of Windows 11 on ARM. What’s fascinating is the firsthand account of a developer who not only tackled software development on an ARM-based Windows implementation but did so through a virtualized environment on a MacBook Pro instead of a native ARM device. Intrigued by this unconventional route? Let’s unpack it and see how Windows 11 on ARM stands up to a year-long test from someone in the trenches.

The State of Windows 11 on ARM in 2024: From Average to Excellent

When Microsoft first ventured into the world of ARM-based systems, the results were decent but uninspiring. Early Snapdragon-powered laptops running this OS were serviceable for casual use but fell short for intensive computing tasks. Fast forward to 2024, and major leaps have been made, thanks to Qualcomm's Snapdragon X Plus and X Elite processors. These new chips finally gave Windows on ARM machines the muscle they needed to compete with Intel and AMD counterparts, not just for casual users but also for developers.
But what happens when you take Windows 11 on ARM, drop it into a virtualized setup on a macOS machine, and give it a year's worth of software development challenges to tackle? This is precisely what Michael Niehaus, a seasoned developer, explored, and his findings give us valuable insights into the system's capabilities and quirks.

Development Experience: Virtualization vs. Native Performance

When we think high-performance computing, running an OS in a virtual machine (VM) doesn't usually top the list of favorable terms. Niehaus chose to virtualize Windows 11 on ARM on macOS via Parallels Desktop, presenting some unique challenges:

Key Advantages of Virtualization:

  1. Seamless Visual Studio Compatibility: When Niehaus ran Visual Studio, the heavyweight champion of Windows development toolsets, it performed flawlessly on ARM. It’s worth noting how crucial this is, as the IDE is notorious for its hunger for resources.
  2. Architecture-Neutral Development: .NET is designed to be architecture-agnostic out of the box. This allowed Niehaus to cross-compile seamlessly for not just x64, but macOS and Linux as well. On the Windows 11 ARM environment, running x64 binaries turned out to be surprisingly smooth, thanks to Microsoft's robust x64 emulation.
  3. Cross-Platform Efficiency: If you’ve ever been held hostage by incompatibility issues while developing, you’ll appreciate this one: Windows 11 on ARM can churn out software targeting multiple architectures without breaking a sweat.

Bumps in the Road: – The Limitations of Virtualization

Virtualization always comes with trade-offs, and macOS introduced specific hurdles for Niehaus:
  • RAM Limitations: Virtualization tools like Parallels needed updates to allow greater RAM allocation for running the Windows 11 ARM VM. In intensive development environments, inadequate memory can bottleneck performance.
  • Nested Virtualization: Here lies the Achilles’ heel of macOS-based virtualization—nested virtualization isn’t supported. That means Windows Subsystem for Linux 2 (WSL2), beloved by developers for its Linux distro support, couldn’t be used within the VM. Disabling the use of WSL2 complicates workflows for projects that rely heavily on Linux environments.
  • SQL Server Mishap: Microsoft’s otherwise comprehensive stack threw a curveball in the form of SQL Server 2022, which does not natively support ARM64. The humor here isn’t lost on anyone—you could emulate x64 binaries, but SQL Server for ARM64 remained elusive. Niehaus had to resort to cheeky third-party scripts to force-install the service, working around a buggy installer to get it running. Why has Microsoft dropped the ball on this? Speculation abounds.

What About ARM-Native Machines?

While Niehaus’s exploration was constrained by macOS virtualization, the few occasions where native ARM devices came up in discussion were encouraging. If you switch out the MacBook Pro for a Snapdragon X Elite laptop, a boatload of bottlenecks disappear:
  1. WSL2 Availability: Native ARM devices don’t deal with nested virtualization headaches. WSL2, critical for deploying Linux builds and running containerized workflows on Windows, works like a charm.
  2. Direct Access to Hardware: Running Windows natively on ARM hardware eliminates the eccentricities of macOS interfacing layers, allowing better optimization and overall quality of life improvements for developers.

A Future Predicted to Be ARM-dominant?

While native ARM performance holds promise, it underscores an important evolution: Microsoft has made strides in ensuring Windows 11 on ARM is competitive, but there’s room for improvement. SQL Server’s ARM64 omission, as highlighted earlier, is symbolic of a fragmented development ecosystem. If Microsoft aims to convince professionals to embrace the ARM platform fully, supporting core developer tools is a must.
Many were skeptical of ARM's rise in the desktop computing market, but its place now feels inevitable. Apple's dominance with M-series chips has popularized the allure of ARM, forcing competitors like Microsoft and Qualcomm to step up their collaboration. This competition has inspired technical advancements such as:
  • Better Emulation Layers: Windows 11's x86 and x64 app emulation tools for ARM are one step ahead of where they stood in 2022, offering surprising ease in running legacy programs.
  • Developer-Friendly Platforms: ARM laptops coupled with tools like Visual Studio create a near-seamless experience for deploying code across architectures (with the glaring exception of SQL Server, of course).

Bottom Line: Is Windows 11 on ARM Ready for Developers?

The journey of Windows 11 on ARM over the past year shows notable progress, validated by the experiences of developers like Michael Niehaus. It might not replace x64 systems in all industries just yet (especially with quirks like SQL Server's limited support), but the platform is absolutely viable for software development, even in a virtualized context. On native ARM64 devices, the fun-factor probably doubles.
To anyone eyeing an ARM-powered Windows machine or even pursuing virtualization on macOS, Niehaus’s experience teaches this: With a few workarounds and updates, the combination can more than handle modern development tasks.
Still, what do you think? Are you ready to take the ARM leap? Join the conversation on WindowsForum.com and let us know how you’re working with (or working around) Windows 11 on ARM.

TL;DR:
Over the past year, Michael Niehaus explored software development on Windows 11 running ARM architecture via a MacBook Pro VM, revealing both strengths (stable Visual Studio, excellent x64 binary emulation) and limitations (SQL Server’s lack of ARM support, limited virtualization). Native ARM hardware ignores many of these hiccups, showing the potential of ARM-powered systems for devs. Future-proof? Definitely. Perfect? Not quite.

Source: Windows Central Hear how it's been developing on Windows 11 on ARM for a whole year from an actual developer who's been using it
 


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